A Mod Australian House Channels the Ghost of Mies

Mies van der Rohe might have made a mark on Modernism by pioneering the minimalist, puritan pseudo-functionalism that has proliferated into what we now know as neo-modernism, but his best contributions to architecture were probably his re-conceptions of space: transparency and the democratized floor plan. The Wirra Willa Pavilion in Somersby, Australia is a "Miesian inspired glass pavilion" that illustrates these two points to a T. Situated in a rural landscape, the home takes advantage of bucolic views with large floor-to-ceiling glass and a terrace that blurs the boundaries between interior living room and exterior porch. With only a small mass in the center to organize the plan, the house becomes free of obstructions, and empowers the user with an extraordinary amount of flexibility to adapt the space to their needs. There are few walls to define what kind of social or domestic activities will take place and how. The natural surroundings served as the conceptual framework for the house. For instance, the building's orientation is aligned to the sun, and the glass panels slide to ...